While enteral feeding containers are at the present time commercially available, for example the Hedeco Nutrifeed unit, there is a need for an enteral feeding container with a simple yet reliable large diameter inlet, for ease of insertion of the liquid nutrient into the container. At the same time, the closure of the inlet port must be leakproof and highly reliable, so that if the container is dropped during use the closure will not pop open. At the same time the container closure must be simple and inexpensive, since it is generally preferable for the enteral feeding container to be disposed of after a single use.
While it is well known and generally desirable to use polyvinyl chloride plastic containers because of their good flexibility, low expense and other good properties, it has proven difficult to make the large diameter port and closure out of polyvinyl chloride. For one reason, an inexpensive, one-piece polyvinyl chloride closure assembly has sufficiently low tensile strength that it has been difficult to formulate a good, molded hanger member connected in integral manner thereto, since the hanger tends to yield with the substantial weight of a filled central feeding container which may contain about 1.3 liters of solution, for example. Also at elevated storage temperatures, certain polyvinyl chloride closures have tended to seal together, making them very difficult to open.
On the other hand, many known plastic materials from which inlet closure ports might be made from are not easily sealed to polyvinyl chloride, so that common materials such as polyethylene or polypropylene cannot be easily used to make molded port and closure assemblies for a collapsible polyvinyl chloride enteral feeding container.
Furthermore, it is desirable for an enteral feeding container to have the capability of more precise measuring, then may be found in the prior art, of small amounts of liquified nutrient, for example up to 500 or 600 ml. of liquid, while at the same time providing a low cost, disposable container.